Presenting comedy before a large audience may look easy but it’s the hardest task, for creators. Making the audience laugh without creating any offense often becomes a great deal. The 2003 sitcom, Two and a Half Men is one such series, that often garnered the spotlight for picking up some controversial topics.
The final episode of the series infuriated a fraction of the audience following which the creator of the sitcom, Chuck Lorre had to give a public apology. The filmmaker did address the issue but also defended his series claiming that the intent behind any scene was not to offend anyone. The lead cast of the sitcom also opined on the situation.
Chuck Lorre acknowledged the offense created by his sitcom among fans
The 2003 sitcom Two and a Half Men has unabashedly put up some controversial topics, throughout its run. However, with its last episode, the creators of the show pushed a little hard following which they had to issue a public apology. In season 12 of the show, there was a scene where Alan Harper (played by Jon Cryer) and Walden Schmidt (played by Ashton Kutcher) get involved in a same-sex marriage.
Though same-sex marriage seems quite normal today, at that time it was no less than a taboo, thus it offended many fans of the show. The show faced severe backlash from the audience, following which the creator of the sitcom, Chuck Lorre had to make a public apology. During an interview, (via The Things) Lorre said,
“No offense is intended, and I hope none is taken. We’ve always been somewhat of an offensive show, so it wouldn’t surprise me if this is going to be offending people. We can’t go out with dignity, because we’ve never had any.”
Similar to Lorre, Cryer also admitted that the show crossed its boundaries at times but he also defended the show by claiming,
“For us, it was just a fun, silly idea that some people were taking kind of seriously, so that sort of surprised us. It seemed really fertile to have a lot of fun with. Hopefully, we haven’t done something too terrible in taste.”
Although he defended the show, the actor also addressed the issue with the show. He said,
“But at the same time I understand. This is a time when our nation is changing so much. And let’s remember, same-sex adoption is still illegal in some states so I can see why people would be nervous about it. And as long as the fight is still being fought they have a right to be sensitive about it.”
Despite all the controversy, the show was a big hit running from 2003 to 2015.
Ashton Kutcher also discussed the controversial element of the sitcom
Ashton Kutcher being the main lead of both the sitcom and the controversy surrounding it discussed the scene that garnered all sorts of negative attention from fans. The scene that caused all the controversies involved Kutcher and his co-star Jon Cryer with whom he shared an onscreen kiss. During another interview, (via The Things), Kutcher revealed that it was his second kiss with a male co-star. He said,
“Jon’s my second male kiss on screen. My first one was in ‘Dude, Where’s My Car? Here’s the thing… if you want to know if you’re not gay, kiss a dude. If you feel nothing, you know.”
Although Kutcher didn’t make any other statement regarding the controversy, his involvement in the series was indeed crucial.
Source: The Things
